Behind the Scenes
by babygirl669
Summary: Maislinn! Aislinn has been typecast since her role as Clare, and Munro doesn't understand. She hasn't seen him for months, what will happen when they see each other again? Read and Review please!
1. Chapter 1

I have been typecast. I have been typecast as the presidential smart girl that makes mistakes. At first, I thought it was awesome that I was able to convey that type of character in such a long-running, critically acclaimed television series. However, now, it is getting very annoying. My best friend tends to disagree with me, though.

He doesn't understand what it's like. He has played all different kinds of characters: a wild-child, a loner, and an emo kid. One of those being my love interest for four seasons. He just doesn't understand what it's like to go from audition to audition and be told that he isn't right for the role, simply because he hasn't been given the chance to show his creative range.

It's kind of a you can't get a job without experience, can't get experience without a job situation.

I have not properly introduced myself, my name is Aislinn Paul, and I played Clare Edwards in _Degrassi_ , an Emmy winning Canadian teen sitcom.

The second paragraph of this tell-all makes it seem like I hate my co-star, Munro Chambers, but I really don't. In fact, I have liked him, like _liked him liked him_ , since her reappeared into my life at the beginning of season ten. I was ecstatic when I found out we would be romantically involved on screen.

Unfortunately, he has never felt the same for me. He dated girls from his various other projects throughout his time on the show, making it clearly visible to all those fawning over him that he was not interested. One of these escapades was his costar from _The Latest Buzz_ ¸ Zoe Belkin. She was gorgeous, and I had met her before, when she guest starred on an episode of _Degrassi_ , where she went on a date with Argiris' character, Riley.

All right, so I have just finished filming my new TV show for Hulu, _Freakish_ , it is a pretty great show. I loved it from the first read of the script. However, I am a girl running for president of the school, and I turn out to be pregnant. Oh, and my character dates a guy who is the polar opposite of her.

This should sound familiar.

After filming wrapped I called Munro.

"Hello?" His husky voice answered.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, hoping he would say that he wasn't busy.

"Not very much, just looking over my plans for the next few weeks. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just got back to Toronto, and I was wondering if you wanted to meet up or hang out at your place or something," I was rambling.

"Oh, yeah! Absolutely, Aislinn. Just let me straighten up the apartment, then you can come over?" His voice noticeably perked up.

"Okay, perfect. Say twenty?"

"Twenty," He mimicked, "Wait, what did I say that for?"

"Twenty minutes, Munro. Will it be okay if I'm there in twenty minutes?" I asked, laughing at him.

"Oh, uh, yeah." He was laughing, too. "I'll see you then."

I smiled and said, "Bye," and I hung up the phone. I set it down on the table and squealed. I hadn't seen Munro since the final episode aired in the summer of 2015.

I went into my bathroom and checked my makeup; it looked decent, well, decent enough for how Munro has seen me over the years.

I fluffed up my hair and then let it fall back onto my shoulders. Figuring there wasn't much I should or needed to do to my appearance, I hopped into the car and headed in the direction of Munro's apartment.

 **All right everybody! I am going to make this into a several chapter story. Let me know if you all would be interested. Love you all. Review below.**

 **-Babygirl669**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everybody, I really liked the concept of Aislinn and Munro having a thing outside of the show, so I am writing it. I also noticed that Aislinn tends to play the same type of character in ever show she stars in, so that is playing a role. Without further ado, this is chapter two.**

 **Aislinn's POV**

With the traffic in Toronto, it took about twenty minutes to cross town, but that's small dice compared to the Los Angeles traffic I'd been dealing with for the filming of _Freakish_. I turned on the radio to help pass my time in the car.

Third-Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life" blasted through my speakers. When I was in LA, Leo (Howard) offered to install sub-woofers into my itty bitty Malibu's sound system. I agreed, albeit reluctantly, but it was one of the smartest things I have done.

I put "installing subs" on a top fifty list of things every young adult must do before settling down.

The bass reverberated through my legs from under my seat. I pulled up at a stoplight and took a glance at the car next to me. It was seven at night and many thirty-somes were on their way home for the night.

There was a couple looking at me disgustingly as the song changed to "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed.

Gosh darn kids and their rambunctious music tastes. They are destroying our country.

I could practically feel the judgement radiating off the couple's car.

Thankfully, the light turned green and I sped off quicker than I normally do. I think LA impacted the way I drive.

I was singing at the top of my lungs, smiling as I pulled into the parking lot of Munro's apartment building. I turned down the volume and gathered my jacket onto one forearm before turning the key and retreating from the vehicle.

I walked to the front of the building, opened the main door, and climbed two flights of stair until I reached apartment 312. I knocked on the dark brown door and waited for the handsome man to invite me inside.

It was about thirty seconds before he showed up, out of breath.

"Hard at work, are we?" I asked, stepping through the space he left for me between the door jamb and his body.

"My space had to be tidy for a princess such as yourself," he replied, shutting the door. He then turned to me and held his arms out for a hug.

I walked into the warmth of his embrace. Butterflies swarmed my stomach as his grip lingered longer than typical.

"How are you?" he asked, chin resting atop my head.

"Pretty well, actually. Better now that I'm here though. What about you?" I responded, ear rested against his chest.

"I'm doing pretty fine myself," he released my body, but took hold of my hand, pulling me toward the rust-red atrocity he called a couch. He sat down on the left, crossing one knee over the other, leaning to face toward me. I was left to sit on the right. I sat, then pulled my feet up under myself, both to the right, allowing myself to face toward him as well.

"How was filming?" he asked, looking at me intently.

"It was fine, busy though. And very strange not knowing anyone," I replied. "Also, there's no guarantee there will be a second season, so it's _Heroes Reborn_ all over again," I continued ranting.

"You died again, didn't you?" he hit the nail on the head.

"I'm typecast, Munro! You can't tell me any differently. Natalie was basically the same person as Clare, except in a zombie-infested school instead of drama," I said, exasperated.

"No, you're not. You just fit better into those roles. You audition better for those roles," he said calmly. "You are a valuable actress. And you just brought up _Heroes_ , you were the villain! A badass villain in that one." I wasn't looking at him anymore. He was making good points, and reminding me that he watches everything that I am in. He's such a good friend. I kind of hated him for it. His finger slipped under my chin, directing me to look at him; his green eyes were twinkling at me.

"Come on, blue eyes, admit it, I'm right," he said cockily.

"I missed you," I said simply, not giving in, but also not being stubborn.

"I missed you, too, Aislinn," he said, moving his hand down to mine and squeezing it.

 **How did you feel about that one? I am definitely going to keep writing this. I love this idea. Review below, please!**

 **-Babygirl669**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am really liking this story, guys. I hope you are too! Continue reading. It may run along slowly, but there will be high points in very chapter.**

 **Aislinn's POV**

I glanced down at our hands.

"You're right, Munro," I conceded. "It's just frustrating."

"I know, Aislinn," he replied, "They will regret it one day."

Knowing Munro since I was eleven has its benefits, like him knowing exactly what to say and when to say it.

"How is your filming going?" I asked, moving the focus from me to him.

"It's good. I have been having a lot of fun." He and I had been talking about his leading role on _Second Jen_ since he got the callback.

"That's great!" I said, smiling. I was so happy he was able to bounce back so quickly after _Degrassi_. He had so much in the works right now, I don't know how he's balancing.

"Yeah, I wish I could see you more often, though," he said, sticking out his lower lip into a pout.

"I know," I said, quickly grabbing hold of the pout. He started to complain, but his words were unintelligible. "Sorry, it was just so tempting, honey," I let it go and gave him a quick wink. He took a second to recuperate.

"Honey?" he asked with his faint-inducing heartthrob smirk.

I blushed, but held my ground, "Yeah, what's the problem?"

"Oh, nothing, _honey_ ," he mocked me, leaning closer on the couch.

"Maybe I miss being Clare and harassing you," I offered a reasoning, leaning in as well.

"You harass me enough off-set. You always have, honey," he just couldn't let it go. And he kept moving himself closer to me.

"I do not! I'm an angel, darling," I adopted a new pet name for the boy.

"Ooh, darling, you do," his face was mere inches from mine now. It reminded me of one interview we had where we teased the audience with a kiss out of character. Was he going to kiss me? His lips stopped an inch from mine. "Do you want to watch 'Better Off Alone?" he asked, opening his eyes wide and cocking his head to the left curiously.

I let out a breath, "Yeah, sure." I was frustrated with him, but no good can come from me sitting and fuming.

"Better Off Alone" was a two-part episode in Season Ten of _Degrassi_. It is also the episode where mine and Munro's characters are given a reason to spend time together, which will lead them to date, and breakup, and date, and breakup, and date, and so on. It really was not a healthy relationship.

This is also where I started developing these unrequited feelings for my older cast mate. We spent more time together than any other couple in the history of the TV show, according to Stefan, and he has been on the show FOREVER.

Munro got up and rifled through his DVD shelves until he found Season ten, part one. We each got complimentary discs after they were released.

He turned on the TV and Blu-ray player and looked at the back of the DVD case to see where the episode was place among the two-sided discs.

When he found it, he popped it into the open disc tray. He then turned around to me, remotes in hand as the titles began to play. He sat back down next to me, closer than before. His musky scent washing over me. We reached the main menu and he arrowed to scene selection.

"Better Off Alone" was the first set of episodes on this side of the disc.

He pressed play and moved his arm to rest on my shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

We watched in silence; my body leaning into his while his arm was draped over me. It was just like old times, except there were no cameras on us.

We were on the scene where Paula Boudreau's character, Mr. Dawes, partners us up, beginning our epic relationship. Clare was complaining that she got a C on her most recent essay and Eli was coloring his fingernails with a black sharpie. How emo.

Dawes mentioned that I was hiding behind vampire fiction. My cheeks flushed, remembering "Innocent When You Dream," where Landon and I had some pretty intense scenes together.

Munro looked down at me, "What, Aislinn?"

"Nothing, just thinking about Landon," I replied.

"Landon? You are thinking about Landon freaking Liboiron when I am a muscular hunk laying here with you?" he feigned hurt.

"Yeah, the vamp fanfiction storyline was with Declan. I thought you knew that," I explained, glancing up from where my head rested on his chest.

He winked at me but said nothing, returning to the show. We watched silently.

 _What if I just reached up and held his hand?_ The moment the thought crossed my mind, butterflies were fluttering everywhere in my abdomen. I felt a pit fall from my throat down to the bottom of my stomach. It was the fear of being rejected.

" _The title's centered?"_ on-screen Munro said, trying to comfort me.

I might as well just do it; what's the worst that could happen? Suddenly, all the unimaginable scenarios ran through my head.

What if he acted like I was the most disgusting person he's ever seen?

What if my hand was sweaty?

What if he had a girlfriend?

My eyes widened. What if he had a girlfriend and he hadn't told me? It is implausible but not impossible.

Fuck it.

" _Well, you comin'?"_ Clare asked on the TV. Eli stuck his apple in his mouth, grabbed his backpack and followed me, running out the door to skip class.

My hand fidgeted on my right thigh. I slowly moved it up, at first to my hair, pretending to sweep it out of my face. Then I glanced over to where his hand was resting over my shoulder. I looked back toward the screen while I nudged my fingers through his, intertwining them.

I saw through my peripherals that he looked over at me, but then smiled and continued watching the show.

I let out a breath that I was apparently holding, and returned to somewhat enjoying the drama-filled episode playing in front of me.

Okay, let me explain "somewhat." As an actor, you never _really_ like the shows you star in. It's like listening to yourself sing. Cringe worthy. I sit and critique every single move I make. And on top of that I know what was going on off-screen. Like this scene, Munro and I were sitting on a bench, talking about my character's not-so-satisfactory grade on the letter assignment.

" _I wrote about gun control."_ Clare said, exasperated.

" _Controversial,"_ I heard Munro say next to me, in perfect time with himself on-screen. I glanced at him, minor judgement in my eyes. He just smirked and gave my hand a squeeze. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

" _If there was one thing you could change in the world, what would it be?"_ Munro's voice softened in this line, showing how affectionate Eli could be.

" _My parents, they aren't exactly getting along,"_ Clare explained.

A little behind the scenes info: Stefan Brogren was standing behind the cameramen, hands clasped together. At this point, we all sort of knew where our relationship was going to go, but Stefan had an all-access pass into Linda and Stephen's office and creative brains. He knew something we didn't.

" _You care too much about what people think."_

" _I do not!"_ Clare said defensively.

" _Then prove it, scream, at the top of your lungs."_ I watched as my character prepared herself, then let out a weak yell.

Eli rolled his eyes. _"That's the best you can do?"_

Accepting the challenge, I stood up, on the screen, of course, and yelled as loud as I could, startling the guy who was looking at umbrellas behind us.

I, real-life me, started laughing. Munro looked at me quizzically

"Has that always been there?" I asked. I distinctly don't remember almost giving a man a heart attack.

"Yep. He almost dies that day, Aislinn." Munro said, winking at me.

We both looked at the screen in time to see me push him into a pole. _"I had to-, you have to-, you have-, I have to-,"_

"Kiss you," I said, not realizing the words actually come out of my mouth.

"Excuse me?" Munro said, looking at me.

"Oh, uh, I always felt that that fit afterward," trying to cover, but honestly, it was just how I felt at that moment.

"Sure," he said skeptically, squeezing my hand again. I really liked that he was doing that. Maybe he did like me, too.

My cheeks started to warm; I knew I was blushing, and I was grateful that Munro had turned off the overhead lights so he couldn't see the obvious flush on my pale face.

Or so I thought.

"Are you blushing, Aislinn?" Munro asked, turning his body to me.

I twisted, in the process, letting go of his hand, "No, of course not!" I replied as defensively as Clare would have to Eli.

Munro gently swept a tendril of hair out of my face and said, "Yes, you are. What going on in that head of yours?"

"It's nothing," I responded, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Bullshit," he replied, placing a crooked knuckle under my chin, looking me directly in my blue eyes. Unfortunately, this caused me to blush even harder than before, not helping my case.

I took a breath. If there was any time to be ballsy, it would be now, with a man I trusted with my life.

"Kiss me, Munro."


	5. Chapter 5

**All right, everyone, this is the last chapter. It is pretty short, but I couldn't think of much else to add to the end of a fluffy fic. Read and Review at the end please!**

 **Aislinn's POV:**

"Kiss me, Munro," I was shocked by my bluntness. He wasn't.

His hands held either side of my face and kissed me for the first time since my graduation episode, but this time, it was _real_. He was doing it because he wanted to, not because he had to. My fingers were tangling themselves in his now-blond hair.

One of his hands moved around to the back of my neck while the other found its way to the small of my back.

We broke apart and looked intently into each other's eyes.

"Woah," I expressed, my breath labored from the kiss that was surprisingly surprising, even though I told him to do it.

"Right?" Munro verbalized. I bit my lip.

"Do you know how long I've wanted to actually do that?" I asked.

"No, but I'm sure it's comparable to how long I have," he said, softly pecking my lips once more.

I pulled entirely away from him. "So, you mean to say that you have had these feelings for three or four _years_ , and didn't say anything?"

He looked at me curiously, "Yeah, but don't you think you've been doing the same thing to me?

"Touché," I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He winked and recaptured my lips. I can't even express how nice it feels to have him kiss me when it's not obligatory.

I felt him shift his weight to his knees and take hold of my hips, gently pushing me back onto the couch. That horrid rust-red couch.

His lips were soft against mine and there was a feeling of love in the kiss that wasn't there in the twenty-nine kisses that made it to the screen. It's like the warmth in cookies made by your grandmother. Or the glint in the eye of someone who shares your heart. It feels like the sun shining on your face after five months of bitter cold winter.

He had been my best friend for almost seven years now. I think it's finally time to transition that close relationship to another, more intimate, one.

I broke back away from him, looking him in the eye, "So, no girlfriend, then?"

He laughed and shook his head at me, "Not yet at least."

Our lips met again. I think this will work out in the end.


End file.
